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Wings
Wings is a song by Little Mix which serves as the lead single and appears as the first track on their debut album DNA. Wings was released on August 26, 2012 and reached number one in the UK and Ireland. It also charted in Australia, New Zealand, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Hungary. Background & Composition After becoming the first group to win The X Factor in 2011 and having their first number-one single in the United Kingdom with "Cannonball," the group began recording "Wings" with the song's producers, TMS. The recording was made while Little Mix were on the X Factor Tour in the United Kingdom at the Music Shed in London.In a January 2012 interview with British newspaper the Daily Mirror, Perrie Edwards said "We're going a bit urban, old school with a bit of pop. We wanna bring back old school harmonies. And Jesy beat-boxes and Leigh-Anne raps, so we're trying out different things." On 9 March 2012 Little Mix met with Syco Music label owner Simon Cowell; Cowell was impressed with their progress, saying it was the group's input that made the song good. The recording of "Wings" was described by Edwards: "It was just such a good time and a really cool experience to be able to go into the studio and have a laugh." According to her, the group knew on first listen that the song had to be a single. In writing "Wings", the group were inspired by Beyoncé Knowles and Michael Jackson. "Wings" is an uptempo pop song incorporating R&B and old school, running three minutes and forty seconds. Instrumentation includes a modern tempo, trumpets, trombone, keyboard, saxophone, drums and clapping. "Wings" is sung in timed harmony,and features a dubstep-composed breakdown two-thirds into the song. Tina Hart of MSN Music likened the song's breakdown to those in Destiny's Child's songs. "Wings" opens with brass instrumentation and clapping before the group harmonizes on the lyrics: "Mama told me not to waste my life, she said spread your wings my little butterfly". The group's vocal performance on the song has been compared to American singer-songwriter Christina Anguilera by a number of critics. Gordon Smart of The Sun and Louis Boroditsky of NOW likened "Wings" to Aguilera's "Candyman" (2007). Other critics felt that the song is reminiscent of girl groups En Vogue and Sugababes, particularly the group's "confident R&B vibe" on their cover of En Vogue's "Don't Let Go (Love)". Release On 30 May 2012, Little Mix revealed "Wings'" title during a live Twitcam with their fans on Twitter. The group revealed the artwork for "Wings" on 1 June 2012. The artwork features the group against a sky-blue background; their logo includes four icons (one for each member). While signing the single's cover sleeves, Perrie Edwards said "It feels so weird seeing our single cover in real life." Also on 1 June, the single was made available for pre-order for 22 July 2012 on the iTunes Store in the United Kingdom. A preview of the song was then premiered during an interview on Alan Carr: Chatty Man on 1 June 2012. It was announced on 11 June 2012 that the single's digital release in the United Kingdom was delayed until 19 August 2012, with a CD single release the following day. On 23 June 2012, Little Mix began counting down to the premiere of the song on Twitter. The song was premiered live at T4 on the Beach on 1 July 2012 and on BBC Radio 1 on 2 July 2012. "Wings" was released for digital download in Ireland on 24 August 2012. It was released in the United Kingdom on 26 August, after being postponed a second time. A CD single of "Wings" was released in Australia on 30 October 2012. After signing with Columbia Records on 8 January 2013, Little Mix announced that "Wings" would be the lead single from DNA in the United States. Leigh-Anne Pinnock felt that releasing the single in the U.S. was "exciting,": "It's always been our dream from the start – we always wanted to be international, so we're just gonna work our bones off and hope it works out for us." Jade Thirlwall said the song was written with the U.S. in mind. Perrie Edwards noted about the release of "Wings," "It seemed like the introduction to Little Mix, it gets our individual personalities across, and it's got a really good message, which we want our fans to have." Labelmates One Direction were also supportive of the release; Jesy Nelson said, "Direction basically told us to go over the U.S. and be ourselves. There's nothing more you can do – you just gotta try your best and hope for the best." "Wings" was digitally released in Canada and the United States on 5 February 2013. Critical Reception "Wings" was acclaimed by music critics. Robert Copsey from Digital Spy awarded the song a four (out of five)-star rating, saying it lived up to its expectations and is a "seriously promising start" for the group. Copsey also praised the song's beat and the group's vocals. Rachel Aroesti of Time Out called the single "a dancefloor-friendly hit". "Wings" was called "addictive" by Al Fox of BBC Online. Popjustice felt that the song was the best single by a girl group since Girls Aloud's "Call the Shots" (2007), and the outro is so "astounding that it will probably be the best outro of any song to be released this summer." The website also likened the song to Christina Anguilera's music, concluding "There's enough intense greatness in this song to launch Little Mix in at least eight countries that aren't the UK." Daily Mirror reporter James Robertson wrote, "Little Mix have made history by becoming the first X Factor winner to have a second single that is actually really good and loads better than their debut track." Robertson further opined that "Wings" is "infectious" and "exactly what made the girls so popular." The song was praised by Michael Cragg of The Guardian, who said "'Wings' is brilliant because it's got everything you'd want to hear in a pop song in 2012". He complimented the song's "horns, big clomping beats, gloomy dubstep bit, double-time handclaps, ridiculous vocal runs last heard on a Christina Anguilera single and a marching band that arrives out of nowhere!" "Wings" was Jon Dingwall's "Single of the Week", receiving a three (out of five)-star rating in the Daily Record. The song was described as "irresistibly catchy" by Bill Lamb of About.com; in his review, of the song he considered the group's vocal style reminiscent to that of En Vogue. Brian Mansfield of USA Today said that "Wings" could be the "What Makes You Beautiful" of 2013 in the United States. Chart Performance Music Video The song's accompanying music video was directed by Max & Dania, and was filmed over a period of 22 hours at an abandoned warehouse (Elstree Studios in London). It was released on July 25, 2012. The video is the first by Little Mix to be Vevo cerified meaning it has reached 100 million views on August 30, 2014. With that, Little Mix have broken four records: *First modern girl group to be certified since 2008 *First british girl group to do so *First international girl group to do so *Quickest girl group certification Synopsis It follows no storyline, and sees the group dancing and performing the song in front of a number of colorful backdrops and a pink Union Jack flag. The video features Little Mix wearing urban-styled outfits which correspond with the backdrops the group perform in front of. It received favorable reviews from critics, who praised the group's fashion sense, dancing abilities and confidence in the video. Little Mix promoted the song by performing it live on various television shows, including Red or Black? and The X Factor, and during the DNA Tour. Little Mix - Wings - Behind The Scenes Little Mix - Wings (Lyric Video) Little Mix - Wings (Acoustic)-0 Little Mix - Track By Track - Wings Little Mix Wings (날개) Korean Lyric Video Usage in the Media *Little Mix perform new hit single "Wings" in Australia on The X Factor 2012.New album called "DNA" out released on November 23rd. live decider Nathaliel Willemse Bella ferraro The Collective live . *English pop rock band Scouting for Girls performed a cover of the song for BBC's Live Lounge on August 30, 2012. *On May 1, 2013, American Idol Season 12 finalists Candice Glover, Angie Miller, Kree Harrison and Amber Holcomb performed "Wings" during the quarterfinal round of the live shows. *The dance troupe of Lancaster, Lancashire performed a routine to "Wings" joint appearance with the dance troupe of York in the 2013 Roses Tournament. *The song was performed by Jessica Sancchez in the fourth-season finale of Glee, "All or Nothing", which aired on 9 May 2013. *"Wings" was featured triply during the 21st episode of the third series of Hawaii Five-0. *Contestant Ellona Santiago sang "Wings" for her audition on The X Factor US in 2013. Personnel *Songwriting – Thomas Barnes, Peter Kelleher, Ben Kohn, Iain James, Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, Erika Nuri, Michelle Lewis, Mischke Butler, Heidi Rojas *Production – TMS *Additional vocal production – James F. Reynolds *Background vocals – Iain James, Carmen Reece *Vocal arrangement – Iain James, Carmen Reece *Engineering – John Hanes *Assistant Engineering – Phil Seaford *Mixing – Serban Ghenea *Additional programming – MNEK *Instrumental arrangement – Simon Clarke, Tim Sanders, TMS *Keyboard – Peter Kelleher *Brass – Kick Horns *Alto saxophone – Simon Clarke *Baritone saxophone – Simon Clarke *Tenor saxophone – Tim Sanders *Trombone – David Liddell *Trumpet – Ryan Quigley, Darren Wiles *Mastering – Tom Coyne Category:Songs Category:Singles Category:DNA Songs Category:DNA Tour Songs Category:2012 releases